Pickpocket (PG) (Robert Bresson, France, 1959) 75 mins. One of Bresson’s most popular films, shot on the teeming streets of Paris and inspired by Dostoyevsky's CrimeAnd Punishment. it’s all about an isolated young man who aspires to challenge society and himself through daring criminal acts. Glasgow: GET.

A La Place Du Coeur (15) (Robert Guediguian, France, 1999) Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gerard Meylan. 112 mins. Gucdiguian’s follow-up to Marius Et Jeanette once again focuses on Marseilles’ underclass. Childhood sweethearts Clim and Bebe live out a blissful existence until a racist policeman imprisons Bebe - because he’s black - on a trumped-up rape charge, at which point two families unite in their eﬂorts to free him. What ties these folk together is their beautiful humanity and it’s this that provides Guediguian's film with its feelgood factor. Who said social realism has to be all doom and gloom? Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Playing Iy Iiaart (15) (Willard Carroll, US, 1999) Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, Dennis Quaid. 119 mins. This is a kind of self-contained soap set in M over eight days and nights, which features a number of famous faces, and which attempts to say something about love and relationships through a seemingly unconnected group of people. Unfortunately, none of the relationships really holds water, and soPlaying By Heart seems dilettante, self-absorbed and basically Perhaps for the mawkish, but deﬁnitely not for the cerebral. Edinburgh: Lumiere.

The Red Balloon (U) (Albert Lamorisse, France, 1955) 34 mins. A lonely little boy fmdsaballoonchasesitalongthestreets, becomes its companion and is eventually lifted off into the skies. A fantastically simple fairy tale. Edinburgh: Lumiere.

Ruth (15) (John Frankenheimer, US, 1998) Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natasha McElhone. 122 mins. Acrack team of post- glasnost super-spies steal a Pandora's Box-like briefcase from the French for the irish before it’s sold to the Russians. it’s a sign of the changing times that another post-Cold War film, Mission: Impossible, squeezes Ronin’s plot into its opening sequence. Worse still, the plot is full of holes and the whole aﬁair unfolds with a total lack of irony, which swiftly becomes laughable and undermines the suspense. Edinburgh: Cameo.

Rope (15) (Alfred Hitchcock, US, 1948) James Stewart, John Dali, Farley Granger. 81 mins.Justasthenvoyounggayprotegonists play an intellectual game of murder to prove their superiority, Hitchcock shows of! his skills by constructing the movie in uncut ten-minute takes.Someofthedialogueisalittle philosophically heavy, which weighs down the peﬂourfunofdieconceptbutitdoesprovide another example of the ly perverse fascinations of the director. Glasgow: OFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie. 80 mins. The weekly animated adventures of the un- cutesy, irritatineg voiced Pickles family is big among kiddies and adults in the States, but the movie is definitely more of a junior entertainment. 'The film’s message is well intentioned, and it might keep the little ones quiet for a while. Glasgow: ABC. Edinburgh: ABC, Odeon.

Rushmore (15) (Wes Anderson, US, 1999) Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams. 93 mins. Bright, bespectacled and geeky, Max Fischer, scholarship boy at the exclusive Rushmore Academy in Houston, is irritating and endearing in equal measures, while his self-belief is awesome. in Bill Murray’s self-loathing millionaire steel tycoon, Max finds a soul mate, but when they both fall in love with the new teacher Miss Cross (Williams), their friendship turns sour. Wes Anderson’s quirky, original comedy puts most of Hollywood’s recent output to shame. Murray gives his best performance in years, while film debutante Schwartzman is simply astonishing. Edinburgh: Cameo.

Shadow Of A Doubt (PG) (Alfred Hitchcock, US, 1943) Joseph Cotton, Teresa Wright, Hume Cronyn, Macdonald Carey. 108 mins. Quiet small-town American life is disrupted when Charlie (Wright) comes to realise that her favourite uncle is the infamous Merry Widow murderer. A subtle psychological thriller from the master. Glasgow: GET. Shakespeare In Love (15) (John Madden, UK, 1998) Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rupert Everett. 120 mins. Joseph Fiennes, a pair of breeches and a few moody verses and a league of women will leave the cinema wondering why they never figured it out at school: Shakespeare is sex on legs. Tom Stoppard ’s script is exuberantly conﬁdent, irreverent and witty. All the characters are sent up and Will Shakespeare is the butt of so many jokes, it's a wonder he retains his romantic gloss. Glasgow: Grosvenor.

At‘l'he Sharp End OfThe Knife(12) (Barbara Orton, UK, 1999) 73 mins. Orton’s documentary follows Scottish activist and Easterhouse resident Cathy McCormack on her journey to the townships of South Africa. There the hope and optimism of the local communities displaced from Johannesburg and Cape Town re-energises her campaign efforts. Finding many parallels with her own life in Easterhouse, McCormack proves to be an articulate, unassuming and often humbled observer. An uplifting ﬁlm, full of the unsuppressable vitality of the South African communities. The film will be available from October through Scottish Education and Action for Development (SEAD), 23 Castle Street, Edinburgh EH2 3DN. Tel: 0131 225 6550. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

She Were A Yellow Ribbon (U) (John Ford, US, 1949) John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson. 103 mins. The second in Ford's trilogy of cavalry Westerns centres on Wayne ’s retirement from military service following Oister’s Last Stand. While not as gripping as Fort Apache or Rio Grande, it has a mellow elegance and a visual brilliance which won cinematographer Winton Hoch an Oscar. Edin : Lumiere.